Vacuum cleaner nozzle



July 31, 1962 A. ATIYEH 3,046,592

VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE Filed May 2, 1960 INVENTOR. AMEN ATIYEH ATTORNEY a! a e 3,046,592 Patented July 31, 1962 3,046,592 VACUUM CLEANER NOZZLE Amen Atiyeh, 151 Bennett St, Kingston, Pa. Filed May 2, 1960, Ser. No. 26,178 3 Claims. ((11. 15-369) The present invention relates to vacuum cleaner nozzles and more particularly to an improvement upon applicants prior Patent No. 2,556,022.

Customarily the surface cleaning of coverings on the floor is accomplished by reciprocating suction nozzles across the face of the rug or carpet to pick up and remove hairs, lint, litter and embedded dirt in the nap or other fabric. Heretofore the loosening and removal of embedded dirt has been unsuccessful and has presented a problem long sought for solution. Various constructions have been tried without finding the answer, such for eX- ample as pivoted rollers or agitators with scarfed surfaces and mounted for lateral sliding in a horizontal plane with the roller in surface contact as the nozzle is reciprocated. The lack of success of such nozzles can be laid to the fact that the roller remains in contact with the rug on the backward stroke of the tool. Thus the roller is in the path of air under suction and becomes an obstruction breaking up the air stream so that the restricted suction fails to remove the dirt embedded in the fabric.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved vacuum nozzle wherein the foregoing problem has been satisfactorily solved.

Another object is to provide a vacuum nozzle wherein a reciprocable member functions to vary the path of a supplemental air'supply to a cleaning surface and is responsive to the movement of the nozzle to selectively vary the position of the member with respect to the floor cover- Another object is to provide a novel suction nozzle wherein a supplemental air supply is introduced into the nozzle for stream selection direction under control of a member so mounted as to be raised out of contact with a rug or carpet during one working stroke of the nozzle.

A further object is to provide a vacuum cleaner nozzle which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and operate effectively to remove embedded dirt as well as all surface hairs, lint and other litter.

In the accompanying drawings FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a vacuum cleaner nozzle embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same;

FIG. 3 is a section view on line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a detail section like FIG. 3 showing the control member as positioned by the nozzle on its forward stroke. I

FIG. 5 is a detail section like FIG. 3 showing the control member in elevated position during the backward stroke of the nozzle; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged section showing the novel bearing for the trunnions of the control member.

Referring to the drawings one form of the nozzle of the present invention comprises an elongated substantially rectangular hollow body 10 having a planar floor contacting surface 11 and internally formed lengthwise with a partition 12 dividing the body 10 into a main suction slot 13 which opens through'the surface 11, and a second slot 14 also opening through the surface 11. The free edge of the partition 12 is slightly cut-away as a communication between the two slots, for air under suction.

The main suction slot 13 has forwardly disposed inlet.

channels 15 respectively at its ends communicating with the atmosphere for suction pick-up at hard-to-reach corners. Also the slot 13 has a centrally disposed outlet 16 which mounts and communicates with the air discharge tube 17 leading in the usual manner to a suction creating and filtering device of well known construction. The rear wall 18 of the body 10 is formed with means for delivering supplemental air into the slot 14, such means, in the present instance, being one or more inlet ports 20.

As a means for picking up lint, dog hairs and other undesirable litter, as fell as loosening embedded dirt in the nap or other cut pile, an elongated cylindrical member 21 of less diameter than the slot 14 is mounted in the outlet of that slot. The exposed-surface of the member 21 is formed with a row of parallel angular'transverse grooves and a second row of parallel angular grooves intersecting the first row to thereby form a pattern of spaced intermeshing diamond shaped fingers 22.

For mounting the member 21 its ends terminate respectively in trunnions 23 pivotally seated in oversize support bearings 24 having a clearance to permit lateral sliding of the member 21 and also to permit the member 21 to be lifted from its position in contact with the floor covering to its non-contact position. In contact position the patterned surface of the member 21 projects below the plane of the surface 11 sufiiciently to cause the fingers 22 to enter the nap or fabric of the covering for the desired parting to thereby engage and loosen embedded dirt while the pattern of grooves collects surface litter.

As a novle feature of the mounting of the member 21 I the base of each bearing 24 has a cam 25 rising upwardly at an angle in the path of the respective trunnions 23 so that during the backward stroke of the nozzle the trunnions 23 ride up the respective cams 25 to not only lift the normally exposed portion of the member entirely within the slot 14 but also to bring it into abutting relation with the partition 12. When so positioned the path of the incoming air from the ports 20 is altered to traverse the now open slot space between member 21 and the rear wall 18 in order to sweep between the member 21 and the exposed face of the rug or carpet. This is an entirely new concept of vacuum nozzle operation because the air suction sweeps directly through the dirt-filled grooves for effective removal while simultaneously sweeping out the loosened dirt from the nap. To limit the turnin g'of the member 21 in its rocking motion from one position to the other a radially mounted pin 26 projects inwardly from the member 21 and has a length to abut the adjacent wall and partition as a limit stop.

As assembled for operation the control member 21 is supported by its trunnions 23 on the surface of the bearings 24 between the cams 25 and the rear wall 18 so that the member 21 is in its lowest position projecting the desired distance for the fingers 22 to sink into the fabric. This is the position for the forward stroke of the nozzle. During this stroke the fingers 22 part the nap deep enough to loosen embedded dirt while the grooves of the member collect all hairs, lint and other litter. Meanwhile suction draws in a stream of supplemental air from the ports, such stream passing over the shiftable member 21 to exit by Way of the passage between the member 21 and the partition 12 to discharge along the rug and sweep out the loosened dirt.

On the back stroke of the nozzle the drag of the member 21 on the floor covering causes it to ride up on the cams 25 to a position where the fingers 22 are drawn into the slot 14 in spaced relation to the rug while at the same time the member 21 abuts the partition 12 to close 1 the heretofore passage for the stream of supplemental air. .As so positioned the direction of travel of the incoming supplemental air is diverted through the newly formed passage between the member 21 and the rear wall 18. Now this air stream sweeps across the bottom of the member 21 thereby removing collected material in the member grooves while also clearing out the loosened dirt in the rug nap as well as all surface material left from the forward stroke. This is a radical departure from all prior nozzles wherein a slideab'le roller or valve member remains in the same plane on both forward and backward strokes of the tool and in contact with the floor covering. By the present invention the control member has two positions, one in contact with the floor covering during the forward stroke of the tool and the other out of contact with the covering on the backward stroke.

It will now be apparent that a vacuum cleaner nozzle has been devised wherein the air stream control member operates radically different from any such members and initiates a new functional result whereby embedded dirt in the fabric is both loosened and removed to leave the covering surface unmarred by worn or bald spots usually present when such dirt remains embedded.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A suction nozzle comprising an elongated rectangular hollow body having a work face to ride on a floor covering, a partition lengthwise of said body forming a main air slot and a supplement air slot, said slots opening through said work face, an elongated cylindrical control member, means pivotally mounting said member in the opening from said supplemental slot with said member projecting to contact a rug in one position and to be lifted out of such contact in another position, said means including a clearance to permit transverse sliding of said member during one stroke of said nozzle, said means also including cams causing said member to lift out of rug contacting position during another stroke of said nozzle, and means to admit supplemental air above said control member.

2. A suction nozzle according to claim 1 wherein said lifting means operates on the backward stroke of the nozzle.

3. A suction nozzle according to claim 2 wherein the contact surface of said control member has intersecting angular grooves forming a pattern of diamond-shaped fingers.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 18,583 Flynn Aug. 30, 1932 2,556,022 Atiyeh June 5, 1951 2,641,015 Lovick June 9, 1953 2,659,098 Meyerhoefer Nov. 17, 1953 2,862,225 Stevens Dec. 2, 1958 2,921,331 Stevens Ian. 19, 1960 

